The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for improving the hearing sensory response of human subjects and more specifically relates to methods and apparatus for treating the symptoms of tinnitus.
Tinnitus is an affliction of the human sensory system which causes a persistent buzzing, ringing or whistling sound in the ears or head. One possible cause of tinnitus is a defect in the auditory nerve, although all possible causes of tinnitus are not fully known.
In an effort to relieve the annoyance caused by tinnitus, one known treatment is to apply variable preferred bands of white noise to the patient in the auditory range, which serves to mask the tinnitus ringing or buzzing. However, this treatment is usually unsatisfactory because the masking noise can interfere with the patient""s normal hearing perception.
Therefore, there exists in the art a need for an effective treatment for the symptoms of tinnitus without degrading a patient""s perception of ordinary sounds such as speech.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies in the prior art by providing a method and apparatus for masking tinnitus through the use of ultrasonic frequency signals. In one embodiment of the invention, masking stimuli in the ultrasonic range are applied to the body to mask the tinnitus symptoms. In another embodiment of the invention, human speech is transposed into the ultrasonic range and applied to the body, while masking stimuli in the auditory range are applied to the patient in a conventional manner.
In particular, the present invention provides apparatus for treating a patient for symptoms caused by tinnitus, comprising means for generating a masking noise signal in an ultrasonic frequency range, and means for applying said masking noise signal physically to a selected body part of said patient. The present invention further provides a method for treating a patient for symptoms of tinnitus, comprising the steps of generating a masking noise signal in an ultrasonic frequency range, converting said masking noise signal into a human sensory signal, and applying said sensory signal to a selected body part of said patient.
Lenhardt et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,434 discloses a hearing aid system which shifts sound signals from the auditory range to the ultrasonic frequency range (referred to in the patent as xe2x80x9csupersonicxe2x80x9d frequencies) and applies the ultrasonic signals to the human sensory system through bone conduction. The Lenhardt et al. patent is incorporated herein in its entirety.